Airlines

3 Days In Singapore: Spa In The Sky

Ruthi, my fellow Birchbox connesiuer, pointed me to a great video by Lisa Eldridge on her beauty regime for long haul flights. While I’m not sure I’d ever have the self-confidence to pull out the full salon that she does, she inspired me to use my long flights to to/from Singapore to test out a bunch of beauty products. (And for my male readers, none of the products I use were tinted or strongly scented, so this might be useful for you as well.)

On my Houston-Moscow leg I decided to try using all the Kiehl’s amenities in my Singapore Airlines First Class kit.

It started shortly after takeoff when I refreshed my face and hands with the lukewarm scented towel they brought pre-dinner. I smeared a tiny bit of the Kiehl’s ultra facial cream and dabbed my lips with Lip Balm #1. The facial cream was extremely light but the lip balm almost felt greasy. After the post-dinner hot towel I used the Ultimate Strength Hand-Salve.

When I was changing into my pajamas I applied another layer of the Ultra Facial Cream and Lip Balm #1 as well as more Hand Salve. Since I wear minimal make up, no facial cleanser was necessary yet. When I woke up just a few hours later I felt none of the usual dryness or grossness. My face felt moisturized and not greasy and my hands didn’t feel swollen.

I changed back into my clothes before breakfast, this time taking the time to use the Ultra Facial Cleanser and then the Calendula Herbal-Extract Toner, before applying more face cream and lip-balm. My face felt tight and fresh and, I at least, didn’t think I looked like I’d had little sleep in the last 24 hours.

For the Moscow-Singapore leg, I opted for products I’d received in recent Birchboxes and Glossyboxes. Having just recently showered, I didn’t apply a facial lotion until the after dinner towel, opting for the Le Metier De Beaute Replenishing Daily Solution lotion with SPF and trying the Mox Botanicals Pomegrante & Fig Lip Butter.

The face lotion went on even lighter than the Kiehl’s. The lip butter was thicker/stickier than the Kiehl’s lip balm, but more what I was used to. I relied on the Ferragamo lotion in the bathroom for my hand moisturizer 😉

I also tried Lulu Lavendar & Clary Sage Hair Powder for the first time to try to minimize the oiliness of my hair. It was hard to only get a dime size amount spread evenly through the hair, so I wound up using more, but it did make my hair look less separated, abet, made it more likely to curl and wave when I slept.

When I woke up after 2 hours I used the lip butter on my lips, which at this point were feeling a little dry and applied a light coating of Sisley-Paris Eye Contour Mask, wiping it off with a tissue after 10 minutes, in a (successful) effort to minimize my black circles and slightly puffy lids.

For my facial cleanser, since at this point I only had eyeliner on, I decided to rely entirely on the hot towels that were brought before and after breakfast. Then I applied another light layer of the La Metier De Beaute and lip butter. I re-applied my eye liner, eye shadow, and finished with my favorite travel size Estee Lauder Sumptuous Lashes mascara in an effort to lift my lashes and look less sleepy.

My face certainly felt better getting off the plane than I usually did, although my hands felt a little dry. The rest of me – cheeks, lips, etc seemed in better shape than when I boarded in Houston.

Pre-Singapore Flight

After Singapore Flight (excuse the weird angle from the self-portrait)

This was confirmed when checking into the Hyatt at 6AM. The clerk asked where I’d come in from and looked visibly startled when I said the US. “That must be a 24 hour flight!” When I replied in the affirmative she said, I looked too fresh to have just traveled that long. Score! 😀

For the flight back I was terribly tempted to go back to my Kiehl’s regimen, but gamely stuck it out, this time trying another set of products. For my face lotion I went with Umbrian Clay Mattifying Serum by Fresh. It was thicker than the other two and did keep my face from getting shiny, but didn’t go on as lightly. I did use the Kiehl’s hand salve again as that was the best for keeping my hands moist but not sticky.

For my lips I used mine & Jeanne’s favorite Sugar lip gloss, also by Fresh, which goes on creamy and feels like it adds moisture in addition to locking the existing moisture in.

For my dark circles I used Ole Heriksen Truth Is In the Eyes peel in the morning, which is a micro scrub that also infuses the area with Vitamin C, and used a Garnier Refreshing Remover towelette as my facial cleanser.

I didn’t feel dry when we landed in Moscow, but I felt like I looked slightly more ragged. (no more painful self-portraits)

I wasn’t up to competing for the shower during the return layover in Moscow, so as soon as I boarded the Moscow to Houston flight I applied my last set of products. Vaseline for the lips (in a convenient tiny tub) and Burt’s Bees Intensive Hydration Night Cream for my face (I didn’t even wait til after dinner).

It goes on thick, and hours later I was still very much aware that I had used it, so I reapplied a little Vaseline and skipped any additional moisturizer, other than Ferragamo for my hands whenever I washed them. The next morning after sleeping 7 hours my face did still feel moisturized, but also a bit like a mask 😛

I cheated a little bit at that point, using the Kiehl’s facial cleanser to remove the remaining Burt’s Bees and applied some Le Metier De Beaute instead. I also switched from the Vaseline (my lips were incredibly soft and moisturized) to a normal lip gloss so I’d look a little brighter going through customs. There’s no doubt I looked better on arrival in Singapore than Houston, even though this time I was wearing the best dress ever. That said, my lips and skin were probably in better shape than they were during a typical work week because of all the attention they got.

So what was the verdict?

Face Moisturizers:

Winner: Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cream – it went on silky and light, left my face feeling moisturized for hours. I’ve actually now switched to this for my daily beauty routine.

#2. Le Metier De Beaute Replenishing Daily Solution – I wore this around Singapore, and while my shoulders got burned, my face stayed protected. It’s actually my favorite since it’s just as light and silky as Kiehl’s, but I can’t justify the $125 price tag.

Winner: Ole Heriksen Truth Is In the Eyes peel – I found out after the fact that you’re not supposed to go out in direct sunlight after applying it, but I had no ill effects walking around Singapore and felt like I looked much more well rested than I felt. It claims to be a peel, but it was so gentle I never felt like it was removing any skin.

#2: The Kiehl’s Ultra Facial Cleanser was great, but I can’t imagine trying to wash and rinse my face in anything smaller than an international First Class bathroom, which I only get to experience a few times a year.

Big Fail: The Lulu Organics® Lavender + Clary Sage Hair Powder was a disaster and took multiple washings to remove from my hair.

The best part about this little experiment is it did actually make me enjoy the flights more. Silly as it sounds, my skin, lips, and hands did feel more pampered and rested at the end of the flights, rather than dried out, old, and tired. I highly recommend experimenting on your next set of flights, even if you’re in coach!

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